8 - Tuesday, October 22, 2013 T
The Michigan Daily -- michigandaily.com
ICE HOCKEY
5 Things We Learned:
New Hampshire
Sophomore cornerback Raymon Taylor and the Michigan secondary have looked uncharacteristically vulnerable.
I n this bye week,
a reversal of roles
By ZACH HELFAND
Daily Sports Editor
When Michigan coach Brady
Hoke was asked how this bye
week differed from the one ear-
lier this year, he addressed it lit-
erally. This week, he said during
his Monday press conference, the
players have Tuesday's practice
off.
So mark that down as one dif-
ference. What he didn't address
was the complete 180-degree
turn his team
has taken since NOTEBOOK
the bye week a
month ago. In these schizophren-
ic, lurching first seven games
of the season, the offense and
defense have switched places.
Now, the defense appears
vulnerable, while the offense
has carried the team. Previ-
ously, after two miserable games
against Akron and Connecticut,
the offense was reeling and the
defense had provided the heroics.
The Michigan football team
now enters its toughest stretch
of the year - with games, in con-
secutive weeks, against Michi-
gan State on the road; Nebraska;
Northwestern and Iowa away;
and Ohio State - with a much dif-
ferent set of issues than even one
week ago. Most pressing is the
defense's sudden propensity to
allow big plays.
Defensive coordinator Greg
Mattison has played his second-
ary loose to prevent passes over,
the top. Against Indiana on Satur-
day, though, the defense allowed
five plays of 20 yards or more.
Now, Michigan's once-reliable,
bend-but-don't-break approach
has yielded 25 plays of 20 yards or
more, good for 89th in the nation.
The Wolverines also rank 82nd
out of 125 FBS teams with six
40-plus-yard plays and 112th with
75 plays of 10 yards or more.
"I know that from a schematic
standpoint, I don't think there's
anything we would want to do
differently. From an execution
standpoint, yeah," Hoke said.
"You've got to make those plays
when you have opportunities
there."
Hoke mentioned that on four
different occasions, a Michigan
defender put a hand on the ball
but failed to make a play. On a
67-yard touchdown pass in the
third quarter, for instance, fresh-
man cornerback Channing Strib-
ling was in position to defend the
pass, but the receiver muscled the
ball away.
Meanwhile, safetyhelp overthe
top has been inconsistent, which
has allowed big gains to turn into
six points. After Striblingcouldn't
defend the pass, fifth-year senior
safety Thomas Gordon took a
poor angle and missed the tackle.
On a 59-yard score, sophomore
safety Raymon Taylor appeared
to expect safety help from Gordon
that never came.
"That's something that you
think you don't have to coach a
whole lot, but you do and you've
got to put them in situations so
they'll have that confidence,"
Hoke said, referringto misplaying
the ball and the safety play. "You
do it during the week, but we have
to emphasize it a little more, and
we have to tackle a little more."
O-LINE OK?: The situation at
offensive line remains murky,
though Saturday provided some
encouraging progress. Against
the Hoosiers, redshirt freshman
Erik Magnuson and redshirt
junior Joey Burzynski got the
start at guard, though Burzynski
missed much of the game with an
injury.
After Burzynski was knocked
out, an array of players got a
chance at guard. Redshirt sopho-
more Chris Bryant and redshirt
freshman Kyle Kalis, who have
each started games, saw time. But
mostly, it was true freshman Kyle
Bosch seeing action.
"I think the guards that played
did a nice job," Hoke said. "Was it
perfect? No. But I think all three
of them did a nice job."
The line has been a constantly
shifting unit for much of the year.
Against Indiana, the running
game looked much improved -
the Wolverines picked up 248
yards on the ground. It's difficult
to gauge how much of that was a
credit to improved blocking and
how much was a shift into the
spread for much of the game.
Plus, Indiana's defensive line
has had its own struggles. Still,
any production from the running
game is an improvement over
week's past.
"Obviously the big test in two
weeks, you're playing one of the
top five defenses in the country
and in our conference in all the
categories," Hoke said of Michi-
gan State. "We've got a lot of work
to do before then."
Hoke indicated the line could
remain in flux. Against Indiana,
Michigan found the best five play-
ers for that game.
But could those five players
change in five weeks in East Lan-
sing?
"It could," Hoke said.
BURZYNSKI OUT: Burzyn-
ski will likely miss the remainder
of the season with a torn ante-
rior cruciate ligament sustained
against Indiana, Hoke said Mon-
day.
Burzynski began as a walk on
but soon worked his way into the
offensive line discussion. He had
played in 21 games before Satur-
day, but the game against Indiana
was the first start of his career.
He was injured in the first
quarter and didn't reenter the
game.
"You feel bad for Joey because
he's worked so hard to get to this
point," Hoke said.
NOTE: Hoke noted that
Burzynski is the only player out
for an extended period of time.
That means senior wide receiver
Drew Dileo, who was injured
on Saturday, should be available
against Michigan State.
By ERIN LENNON
Daily Sports Writer
1. Zach Nagelvoort provides a
solid backup in net.
Less than two minutes into the
third period Friday against No.
13 New Hampshire, sophomore
goaltender Steve Racine was lay-
ing on his front side in noticeable
pain and unable to continue play
in a tie game on the road. He was
assisted off the ice by sophomore
forward Boo Nieves and fresh-
man defenseman Nolan de Jong,
and did not returnfor the remain-
der of the game.
His early exit prompted the
regular-season debut of Nagel-
voort, the freshman, who hadn't
seen ice time since coming in
halfway through an exhibition
game against Waterloo (Ont.). He
made 15 saves in 15 minutes with-
out allowing a goal en route to a
1-1 tie for No. 4 Michigan (3-0-1).
Nagelvoort made his first
career start the following night
with Racine - who recorded
a career-high 42 saves against
Rochester Institute of Technolo-
gylastweekend - sidelined again
by what was described as a lower
body injury.
After a solid first period,
Nagelvoort surrendered a pair of
scores on just 12 shots in the sec-
ond. The second goal bounced in
off his own skate.
Still, in his impromptu debut
weekend, Nagelvoort recorded
his first career win and kept
Michigan out of the loss column
two nights in a row.
"For his first college hockey
experience to have to come in and
then face a penalty shot, it's pret-
ty good," said Michigan coach
Red Berenson. "And plus killing
a penalty, I thought he did really
well."
2. Michigan can survive the OT.
After a 7-4 victory over RIT
last Saturday in which the Tigers
erased a 4-0 deficit in a single
period, Bennett said that he
was unsure if last year's team
would've secured the victory.
But twice this weekend, the
Wolverines were forced to play in
front of a reputably hostile sellout
crowd at the Whittemore Center
Arena in Durham, N.H.
Twice, they came away
unscathed.
Without their starting goalie
in the net, Michigan and Nagel-
voort held off New Hampshire
through five minutes of overtime
hockey on Friday, tying the Wild-
cats 1-1.And the Wolverines came
away with a 3-2 overtime-victory
on Saturday when freshman for-
ward Tyler Motte netted a goal
1:37 into the extra frame.
"Those were two good games,"
Berenson said. "We felt (Friday)
night we didn't put our best foot
forward, and the home team
was better. But we survived the
tie. In every category, we were
outplayed or outworked or out-
faceoffed or out-chanced."
For a young team looking
to build its identity froni the
get-go, this weekend's resilient
performance could be a defin-
ing moment. If nothing else, the
Wolverines proved they are con-
ditioned enough to survive extra
hockey when necessary.
3. Guptill provides both power
and flexibility.
On Friday, junior forward Alex
Guptill moved up to the first line
alongside sophomore Andrew
Copp and senior Derek DeBlois.
The trio contributed to the
Wolverines' lone goal, but after-
ward Berenson decided Guptill
would be better suited on a bigger
line with Nieves and junior Phil
Di Giuseppe, who had trouble
connecting in the first game.
It took just 10 minutes on Sat-
urday for the new line to connect.
Guptill took a pass off the side-
boards from Nieves and fired a
shot off the inside of the post and
in - his first goal of the season. Di
Giuseppe picked up an assist on
the play.
Later in the period, Guptill
took a feed from Nieves near the
right circle and slid through the
New Hampshire defense before
netting his second goal of the
game over the shoulder of goal-
tender Casey DeSmith.
4. The freshmen are ready.
On a larger ice surface - one
that stretches 15 feet wider than
regulation - and an even bigger
stage this weekend, Michigan's
nine contributing freshmen were
as unfazed as they had been in
the season opener against Boston
College.
Freshman forward Tyler
Motte played the hero on Satur-
day when, less than two minutes
into overtime, freshman forward
JT Compher found DeBlois who
fed Motte for the game-winning
goal.
Freshman forward Evan Allen
- on an all-freshman line with
Compher and Motte - near-
ly gave the Wolverines a lead
before regulation expired, but his
rebound chance flew high over
the net
Nagelvoort, alate commit from
the United States Hockey League,
saved 22 shots in 24 attempts,
allowing just one goal.
But Nagelvoort's first win
might not have been possible
without the efforts of freshman
defenseman Michael Downing,
who threw his body and stick to
block a shot in the first period.
Freshmen have scored the
game-winning goals in two of
Michigan's three wins this sea-
son.
"They're doing a good job,"
Berenson said. "We knew they
would. Tonight's the first game
we put three freshmen on a line.
We put Allen on a line with Com-
pher and Motte, and I thought
they played well."
5. Racine listed as week-to-week.
Racine watched practice from
stands of Yost Ice Arena on Mon-
day.
Accordingto Berenson, Racine
suffered a groin injury from an
odd save on Saturday. Racine is
unlikely to practice in pads at
all this week, and will miss this
weekend's games against Boston
University and Massachusetts-
Lowell. The injury, though, isn't
one that worries Berenson for the
longrun.
"It's not that serious," Beren-
son said. "But for a goalie who has
to go down all the time, it's more
serious than a regular skater."
As it did this weekend, the
offense will likely have to com-
pensate for the setback.
"(Racine's injury) is not a
worry, that's for sure," said senior
forward Mac Bennett on Friday.
"We have four talented goalten-
ders, and any one of them can
play. Obviously, it's bad to see
Steve go down, but Nagelvoort
came in, stepped up, made a huge
breakaway save right away, and
that definitely has to help his con-
fidence."
1I
Sophomores blossom
By NATE SELL
DailySports Writer
Last year, the Michigan field
hockey team had only one senior
- one lone member of the class
of 2013. This would spell disas-
ter for many teams, but Michi-
gan coach Marcia Pankratz saw a
great opportunity to develop the
young talent she had recruited.
She took the team's 11 freshmen
and threw them into the fire, and
they responded by showing that
they belong at Michigan.
"Last year, it was almost like
they didn't even know they were
supposed to be nervous," Pan-
kratz said. "They held their own
and really solidified some ques-
tion marks we had."
These freshmen were thrown
into starting roles from the first
game of the season, with many
expected to be key contributors
on a team that lacked upperclass-
men. At any time during the year,
it was possible that freshmen
made up more than half of the
team on the field. This was made
possible by the confidence that
Pankratz had in the class.
"I wasn't nervous," Pankratz
said. "That's why we recruited
them. They're Michigan women,
and they can handle anything
outside their comfort zone and
adversity."
Handling the pressure was not
a problem for Lauren Thomas,
who is now a sophomore. Thom-
as is from Aylesbury, England,
where she already had a lot of
experience playing against top-
notch competition in a country
ERIN KIRKLAND/Daily
Back Lauren Thomas is one of a bevy
of sophomores leading Michigan.
where field hockey is much more
popular. She admitted she felt
comfortable in a Michigan uni-
form from day one and has used
that sense of belonging to help
herself and her team this year.
"It's just really nice to take that
experience from freshman year
and give that to the freshmenthat
have been thrown into the fire
this year," Thomas said.
Sophomore Shannon Scavelli
was also expected to be a major
contributor early last year but
took longer to get comfortable.
"Every day was just such a new
experience," Scavelli said. "It was
a privilege to wear the block 'M'
and towards the end of the sea-
son, I started to relax a little more
and just go out there and play."
Now, as sophomores, Thom-
as, Scavelli, Caroline Chromik,
Jaime Dean and Taryn Mark
have a season of experience that
most players their age don't.
They've started every game for
the Wolverines this year, which
has proven to be a distinct advan-
tage, adding depth to the team.
With an experienced sophomore
class, Pankratz is often able to use
around 20 players per game and
rotate often. This allows them
to stay fresh and gives them an
advantage over teams with fewer
players to rotate in.
"They play like upperclassmen
already," Pankratz said. "So it
bodes well."
Added Scavelli: "It was great
to have that experience last year,
but now it's time to really get on
the field and your teammates and
coaches and myself expect a lot
out of one another because we
have been through it already."
This group of sophomores isn't
just making things happen on the
field - they have also grown to be
a very tight group. After being in
the same situation together last
year, they grew closer through
the adversity of being freshmen
playing key roles on the team.
"If we were homesick at the
same time, we were able to talk
to each other, or on the field if we
had any problems, you were able
to talk it out," Scavelli said. "You
didn't feel alone and always had
people to lean on."
This bond has become stron-
ger this year and has started to
spill over to the rest of the team.
With a young core that already
knows what it means to play field
hockey in a Michigan uniform
and great team chemistry, there
is no telling how much this team
can accomplish. They have their
sights set on a Big Ten Champion-
ship, and that isn't too far out of
reach.
I
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